commonage

American  

[kom-uh-nij] / ˈkɒm ə nɪdʒ /

noun

1. the joint use of anything, especially a pasture.

2. the state of being held in common.

3. something that is so held, as land.

4. commonalty.

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commonage British  

/ ˈkɒmənɪdʒ /

noun

1. law

   1. the use of something, esp a pasture, in common with others

   2. the right to such use

2. the state of being held in common

3. something held in common, such as land

4. another word for commonalty

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Etymology

Origin of commonage

First recorded in 1600–10; common + -age

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commonage

In the evening we heard that the enemy were at Glen Lennie on their way to Harrismith, and that a patrol had already reached the town commonage.

From Through Shot and Flame The Adventures and Experiences of J. D. Kestell Chaplain to President Steyn and General Christian De Wet by J. D. (John Daniel) Kestell

The whole baronetage, peerage, and commonage of England did not contain a more cunning, mean, foolish, disreputable old rogue than Sir Pitt Crawley.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

In 1663, there was a “house called the Goat at Little Chelsea,” which, between that year and 1713, enjoyed the p. 95right of commonage for two cows and one heifer upon Chelsea Heath.

From A Walk from London to Fulham by F. W. (Frederick William) Fairholt

The deer were suffered to run loose upon their lands; and many oppressions were used with relation to the claim of commonage which the people had in most of the forests.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 07 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

It is the way your forefathers understood the law of commonage, and nobody ever grumbled that his neighbor had a cow or a pig too many!

From One Of Them by Charles James Lever

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